Vegan Quiche w/ Zucchini + Corn

This no-tofu Vegan Quiche w/ Zucchini, Corn, Peppers is so rich and flavorful, that you’ll forget that it’s vegan!

I miss eggs. There! I said it!!! I miss the ease and comfort of eggs on a Saturday morning! I miss all the amazing breakfasts in my life that centered around eggs. Eggs and cheese, but we’ll do cheese another day. Today, is all about the eggs. Sure, early vegans in their infinite wisdom have found a way to substitute eggs with chickpeas and ground flaxseed and banana and applesauce in baked goods, but I miss the unmistakably jiggly texture of warm eggs in the morning. Don’t even get me started on a runny yolk running down toast. *tears!*

It all began the weekend before last when for no apparent reason, I was reminded of how much I miss eggs and since that thought crept into my head, try as I did, I couldn’t get rid of it. It was quiches that I craved, why I cannot say. In fact, I think I’ve had quiches just once or twice in my whole life, but suddenly it was all I wanted in my life to feel happy again.

So obviously, I went to the internet to see if someone else had already found the answer to my problem. Sadly, all the solutions for a vegan quiche began with one unappetizing word: tofu. I can totally see the texture working out, but I have yet to come to terms with the flavor of soy on Saturday morning. I went to my drawing board and began to list down all the possible ingredients (besides tofu) that could make it work.

I remembered this eggless custard (woah! there’s an oxymoron for you!) I grew up eating. It was made with Brown and Polsen’s Vanilla Custard powder that you boiled with whole milk and refrigerate to create a jiggly custard, set to perfection. It was absolutely stellar when served chilled in the summer with fresh mangoes; the perfect balance of creamy, fragrant, sweet and tang. The main ingredient of this magical custard powder was cornstarch. Would the same concept work for a quiche too??? It was just mad enough to warrant a try, and I have a thing for crazy ideas that are too good to be true.

I am so glad that I did give it a try because this one was a phenomenal success. It had the jiggle and everything when it came out of the oven, and after leaving it alone for a few minutes to cool down, set to a perfect custard, smelling like Italian herbs basking under the sun. And the crust, ugh! Buttery crisp, melt-in-your-mouth and not soggy at all!!!!

I thickened the coconut milk filling with cornstarch and chickpea flour. Why? While the cornstarch does its job invisibly, I felt that the nuttiness of the chickpea flour would add to the flavor profile of the dish, besides lending a touch of golden sheen to the quiche, the color that usually comes from the yolk.

While the crust is blind baking in the oven, roast the vegetables. Make sure that you roast them, uncovered, in a way that the skin begins to sear and char here and there, but some of the pieces still retain their crunch. Your best bet is to chop them rather chunkily to attain that tightrope balance between soggy and crunchy.

While the vegetables are cooling down just a tad, make the eggless and dairy-free vegan quiche filling. This one is a cake walk. You add all the ingredients to a bowl/measuring pitcher (hopefully with a spout for a no-mess experience while pouring) and whisk to break up the lumps in the cornstarch and chickpea flour, of which there will be plenty to begin with. But hopefully by the time you’ve whisked them into submission, it’ll be a smooth and creamy concoction that pours in a smooth and steady stream.

What else now, but bake!

While the entire thing should take you little more than an hour from start to finish when done efficiently, I’d still break the job into two parts: blind bake the crust the night before, roasting the vegetables and baking the morning of, for a seamless brunch experience unmarred by pastry rolling and constant oven manning.

And for more flavor infusion, toss a sprig of rosemary or thyme on top of that quiche before it goes into the oven. Let your home swirl in a delicious and soothing aroma, a teaser-of-sorts, if you will, as you wait for your quiche to be ready. When it does, after allowing it a few moments to set as it cools, slice in and savor the eggless, dairy-free Vegan Quiche that’s soft, creamy, luscious, jiggly and more!

When you make this delicious delicious Vegan Quiche (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!

Instructions

Make the pie crust dough

Refrigerate the coconut oil, stirring every 5 minutes as it begins to harden until the clear liquid turns into a scoopable, grainy consistency.

Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Re-position the oven baking rack to the lower middle slot. Place a pie tin on a baking tray. Set aside.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add the coconut oil to the flour and using a fork, mix by cutting the oil into the flour, until it resembles wet sand. Add the cold water and bring together with a spoon. Then use your hands to shape it into a ball.

Note: If it's too soft, refrigerate for a few minutes before rolling out.

Roll the dough into a circle that it slightly larger than your pie tin. Transfer the rolled dough onto the pie tin and press down the sides. Trim excess dough around the edges, using the trimmed bits to patch up any areas that appear broken or misshapen.

Cover the top of the pie dough with foil/parchment paper and fill upto the brim with pie weights or large lentils (like chickpeas).

Bake in the preheated oven at 425°F/220°C for 15 minutes on the lower middle rack. Then remove the pie weights and foil, prick the pie crust lightly with a fork (without going all the way through the crust) and continue baking for 10 more minutes until the edges and bottom is golden brown and crisp.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack, still in the pie tin.

Roast the vegetables

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the roughly chopped onions, zucchini and peppers, and roast on medium heat until the edges begin to turn brown. Add the tomatoes and corn, continue to saute until the excess moisture is gone. Turn off the heat, stir in the spinach and dried Italian herbs and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Re-position the oven baking rack to the center slot.

What a fantastic job you did figuring out how to make a quiche without eggs! I love playing around in the kitchen too but this one was just utter brilliance on your part. Love not using tofu, of which I’m not a fan of, and instead making a custard with chickpea flour, cornstarch and coconut milk. And you topped yourself by roasting the vegetables which brings out so much flavor. Definitely want to give this a try!

Yes please!!!! It really wasn’t much creative work once I figured out that the ingredient list of the Brown n Polsen custard powder basically said cornstarch. The rest worked out themselves. I am really big on flavor, so there’s no way I was making a quiche without a medley of roasted vegetables!!!! 🙂